Distractions
by siriusuk
Summary: CH 9 UP!Ron and Hermione have an undeniable force of feelings towards each other but is intercepted by an even bigger force that no one can control.
1. The Truth

**Chapter One**

**The Truth**

As Harry, Hermione and Ron sat around the table in the corner of the common room, Harry and Ron were playing chess and Hermione, as usual, was surrounded by her many piles of books.

Ron and Harry knew quite obviously that Hermione was working furiously on her Ancient Runes essay, but for once she wasn't concentrated on her homework, which would have come to a shock for anyone else. No, actually her mind was on something else, something that had been on her mind for as long as she could remember.

She had arranged her books as to leave a small space were, any time she got the chance, she would peer between them and stare at Ron.

She hadn't really understood fully why she had this strange attraction to Ron, but it had always been there, ever since the first time she saw him on the Hogwarts Express with that smudge of dirt on his nose, but lately it has become more pronounced than ever.

Every so often she would catch herself staring at him for moments at a time and she would force herself to look away. But she always argued with him and it seemed like they never got along, she would only do this mainly because of Harry, and also because of Ron. To think of telling him that she had feelings for him when she didn't even know if he felt the same way towards her, is just like suicide.

Ron, of course, had no idea that any of these thoughts were going through Hermione's mind. In fact he didn't even know that she had the same feelings towards him as he had for her, and he had the same fears as Hermione.

Over the next few weeks everything had been the way it always was, everyone's week was filled with classes and homework, and for some people Quidditch practice.

At times Ron wasn't sure whether he was seeing things or not, but every now and then when he would look over at Hermione, he would notice her just sitting there staring at him, but the moment they made eye contact she would jump slightly and look away hurriedly.

He wasn't sure what to think but he knew that he sure as hell wasn't going to go up and ask her about it.

But as time progressed, it seemed that Hermione was pushing it in Ron's face, trying to get him to understand. She was much to shy to just walk up to him and start talking freely about her feelings towards him.

Ron noticed how much it seemed that Hermione was flirting with him but he tried to act as if he didn't know, and this was definitely frustrating Hermione. But Ron wasn't the only one who noticed Hermione's sudden attraction to Ron, Ginny wasn't blind nor stupid. She could tell right off the bat that Hermione had a thing for her brother, yet she didn't want to say anything to him because she wasn't sure whether Hermione wanted him to know or not. Well now Ginny could tell that it was a completely different story.

After several days of watching Hermione try to get Ron to notice her and Ron not responding, Ginny decided that it was time to help out a little bit.

So that night in the common room Ginny went straight up to Ron.

"Ron, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked.

"About something that you'll find out when you come and talk to me," she replied.

"Alright fine, but it better be quick because I need to finish my Potions homework and I'm nowhere near done." said Ron, getting huffy.

"Oh just get up and come on, you're wasting your own time." she said, rolling her eyes, as Harry snickered. As Ron stood up, he turned and glared at Harry, but Harry didn't seem to have noticed. On the contrary, he was more worried about Hermione.

He noticed that she was off sitting in front of the fireplace all by herself, and not just that, but she seemed really perturbed about something, like something was bothering her.

Harry walked over to the armchair by the fireplace and sat down facing Hermione. Seeing her up close like this, Harry could now tell that she seemed extremely depressed.

"Are you alright Hermione?" he asked.

She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, she hadn't even noticed that Harry walked up. Her mind was still on Ron, she was more confused than she had ever been. She knew that she liked him and it seemed to her that he liked her too, and yet even when she was flirting with him, he showed no sign of liking her. She didn't know what to do anymore.

As she looked up at Harry, she tried to manage the most convincing smile that she could muster at a time like this.

"Oh nothing, I'm just exhausted from all my homework." she lied.

"Are you sure? because it seems like there is something else that's bothering you." he said, as he searched her face for an answer.

"Well,…" she wasn't sure whether she should tell Harry about her problems with Ron. I mean how would Harry react if she were to tell him about her feelings towards Ron and how much she likes him. They had all been really good friends for a long time now.

"Well, what?" urged Harry.

As she looked up at Harry, there was no holding herself back any longer. She had to get this off her chest, she needed to tell someone, maybe that would help with everything that has been going wrong lately.

"Well actually it's about R…"

"Ron?" said Harry.

Hermione looked at him dumbstruck.

"How did you know?" she asked, completely shocked.

"Well, I mean, it was getting pretty obvious. In fact if Ron didn't notice himself, which I'm pretty sure that he has, than there must be something really wrong with him." he said, chuckling

"Was I really that obvious?" she asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Well not really in the way that you are thinking, you were doing well on trying to get his attention. It's just,…well, you know Ron, he's not much of a 'show your feelings' person. If you know what I mean." Harry said.

"Yea, I guess so. But I mean what am I supposed to do about this if he won't take the initiative to even talk to me about it?" she asked desperately.

"I'm not too sure about that, personally I think that if he doesn't get up the nerve to come and talk to you by Monday, then I think that you should do it instead." he said, hoping that his advice would help.

While Harry and Hermione continued talking, Ron and Ginny were having a conversation all of their own.

"Ron, what has gotten into you?" Ginny asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I don't know what you mean," said Ron, trying to sound innocent, but having a faint idea of what Ginny was talking about.

"You know full well what I mean Ron. Why are you ignoring her so much, I know you like her." said Ginny.

"Like who? I don't know what you're talking about." Ron said, but knowing that out of everyone, his own sister would know that he was lying.

"Would you just stop being so naive, for god's sake. It's obvious that you like Hermione, you're just not man enough to admit it," Ginny said, getting fully irritated.

"I am man enough to admit my feelings towards Hermione, it's just that I'm scared shiftless of having a relationship with anyone." Ron snapped.

Ginny just stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open.

"I just…I don't know how I would act around her, it would be really awkward, ya know. I wouldn't know what to do." he said, barely audible looking at the ground, feeling ashamed.

It was completely quite for several minutes between them except for the noise being made by the first and second years in the common room.

Then Ginny said quietly, "That's the thing Ron, you're too caught up in how weird you think it would be. That shouldn't matter, not if you really like her the way that I know you do. And to answer your question on how you wouldn't know how to act around her, you just need to act like yourself because if you didn't then that would be the thing that would cause it to be awkward. Just stop being so paranoid about everything and just go and talk to her and let her know how you really feel."

"Alright, I'll talk to her soon, just don't keep bugging me about it, okay?" said Ron sheepishly.

"Fine. Just don't wait too long because you never know what could happen." Ginny added as she walked away towards the girls dormitory.

Ron looked over and saw Harry and Hermione sitting over by the fireplace, and decided that it was time to take some sort of action no matter how small it would be. So, he walked over to where they were and dropped down onto the couch with a huge sigh.

"Wow, what a night. I'm exhausted, I think I'm going to head up to bed." Harry said, stifling a fake yawn and eyeing Hermione purposefully.

Hermione knew for a fact that Harry wasn't tired at all and it was much earlier than it usually was when he went to bed, but she appreciated it all the same.

After Harry walked up to the boys dormitory, Hermione and Ron were the only two left by the fireplace.

"Uh, Hermione?" Ron said.

"Yes?" she said, quickly looking at him.

"I,…I-I was wondering…" he broke off as soon as they made eye contact.

"Yes…" she urged.

"Um, I…" he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "I was wondering if you could help me with the rest of my potions homework?" he said finally.

"Oh, yea sure," she said, sounding slightly disappointed. She thought that he was actually going to acknowledge the fact that he liked her.

As they stood up to go back to the table to finish their homework, Hermione walked in front of him and he caught a scent of her freshly washed hair that smelled of strawberries and creme.

Stupid, you just blew your chance to let her know how you really feel for her, but no, you just had to go and screw it up for yourself. Bravo Ron.

"So, what was it that you needed help with?" Hermione asked, breaking Ron's train of thought.

Author's Note: Please read and review! This is my very first fanfic and I'm not that well known, but I am planning on writing a lot more stories, you just have to give me some time. Thanks!


	2. Visitor

**Chapter Two**

**Visitor**

Hermione had followed what Harry had said, so when Monday rolled around it was time for her to take the initiative to talk to Ron herself. She wasn't planning on talking to Ron about it until after dinner.

What she wasn't expecting was to be sitting in the library working on her homework and seeing Ron walk in. She stood up as she saw him walking towards her, but she wasn't sure what to expect, but if he wasn't going to talk to her than she would. What happened next took her by such great surprise, that she felt like she had been knocked off her feet.

As Ron made his way over to Hermione, she said, "Ron, I really need to talk…"

But she wasn't able to finish the rest of the sentence because when Ron walked up to Hermione, he kissed her with such force and drive that he felt like he was flying away from all of his fears and troubles and he never wanted to let go or go back.

Hermione was shocked at the action that Ron just took with her, but her body seemed to give way to its impulses, and she kissed him back with such passion that she had not known she had.

The heat that passed between them was almost unbearable, but neither of them wanted to let go, never.

"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY LIBRARY?" shrieked Madam Pince, "THIS IS NOT A MAKE OUT ROOM! Get out, get OUT!"

Ron helped Hermione gather her things as quickly as possible, while Madam Pince continued to yell at them at the top of her lungs, and as soon as they had everything they ran as fast as they could out of the library, laughing.

They made it about halfway to the Gryffindor common room when they stopped for a breath.

They were both still laughing about the scene they just made, when Hermione stopped laughing, looked up at Ron, who was still laughing, and she lifted her hand and placed her first finger over his mouth.

He stopped laughing immediately, and then Hermione said, "Now where were we?"

She leaned in and began to kiss him again, but it seemed more meaningful this time, and as Ron leaned forward too, he deepened the kiss.

When they broke apart, Ron hung his head and kept his eyes closed. Hermione placed her hand under his chin and lifted his head up and she looked deeply into his eyes.

"I have been waiting for this moment for a really long time." she whispered.

"Me too," said Ron.

"Then why didn't you do anything before now?" she asked.

"Because I was too scared and I didn't know whether you felt the same way." he confessed.

"I'm still scared." he whispered.

"You don't have to be scared Ron. I won't force you into anything that you don't want to do. I really do care about you more than you can imagine, and if you're not comfortable for a relationship, then we don't have to be that way right now. But I would like to stay friends no matter what you choose." Hermione said.

Those words comforted him, in ways that he thought was not possible. He felt more safe and at home with her than he had ever felt with anyone else. But he wasn't sure whether or not he was ready for a relationship and he had to tell her.

"Hermione, I have feelings for you that I've never had for anyone else, and I don't want to give up on you nor do I want your feelings towards me to change. But I'm not quite sure if I'm ready for a relationship like this, at least not right now anyway." Ron said, not looking at her.

"That's perfectly fine, I would rather wait until you are actually ready for us than to have an untrue and rushed relationship. I don't want you to be put on the spot and made to make a decision right here, right now." she said, lifting his head up again and looking at him with such sincerity and intensity that he couldn't help but smile.

Several weeks had passed and Ron and Hermione were still just friends, they hadn't told anyone about their little scene they made in the library.

As Hermione sat in the library studying for her Transfiguration test for the next day, she looked up and saw someone who she would have never expected to see.

"Hi Herm-own-ninny!" said Victor Krum.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing…I mean, how are you?" she asked, astounded.

"I am doing quite vell, and you?" he said smiling.

"Great, absolutely fine. Wow, it's so incredible to see you again. I mean, what are you doing here? Are you visiting someone?" she asked.

"Vell, yes I am here visiting somevon…you!"

"What?" she asked, sounding perplexed, "You're here to see me?"

"Yes!" he said excitedly. And he walked over to her and gave her a huge bear hug.

"Oh!" is all she was able to manage, because the rest of the wind was knocked out of her by the magnitude of the hug.

"Uh, Victor?" she whispered, trying to take a breath but wasn't having any luck.

After several minutes had passed, she finally conjured the strength to pull back and push him away. She stood there for a while, taking in several deep breath's. As soon as her head stopped spinning and she was no longer dizzy, she was able to manage a good-natured smile.

"Umm…would you like to go for a walk?" Hermione asked.

"Ov course, anysing for you." Victor replied.

Hermione stared at the ground, blushing slightly.

As Victor and Hermione were walking out on the grounds together, Ron and Harry were just finishing up Quidditch practice. While they were walking back to the castle, Ron looked over and saw, to his surprise, that Hermione was sitting by the lake with Victor Krum.

"Is that really Krum?" asked Harry astonished, as he too just noticed Victor and Hermione.

"Yea, it is." said Ron glumly.

Just his luck, he knew that something like this was going to happen. He knew that he shouldn't have waited so long.

Good going Ron, you just screwed up your only chance with the girl you actually have feelings for. Stupid!

By the time that they finally made it to the common room Harry was getting out his homework getting ready to start, and Ron was heading upstairs to the boys dormitory to change out of his Quidditch robes.

When he got up there, he wasn't planning on rushing, all he could think about was Hermione and Krum together, alone. He walked over to the window and saw them both walking back over towards the castle.

Right as he turned to change, something caught his eye and he turned back to see what was going on. He peered out the window, and a split second later his mouth was hanging agate with shock and horror of what he was witnessing.

Hermione and Krum stopped right outside the main entrance and began kissing. Ron turned away feeling disgusted with himself, but what he didn't know was that it was Victor who was the one who actually kissed Hermione, and as soon as Ron turned away Hermione pulled herself away.

"What in god's name are you doing?" she asked, utterly perplexed.

"I vas kissing you." he replied.

"Well, I know that," she said sarcastically, "what I meant was, what the hell was that all about and where did it come from?"

"To tell you the truth, I veally like you a lot Herm-own-ninny." he said, not looking at her.

"I've liked you ever since I met you. You are the kind ov person that I've always been looking for. You're sveet, nice, funny and not to mention very, very beautiful." he said, looking at her with great sincerity.

When he said these words, they hit Hermione with such great impact, that she didn't know what to do or say.

"Thank you, that is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me." she said, blushing slightly.

"There is no need for you to 'sank me, Herm-own-ninny, I'm just telling you the truth."

Over the next few weeks Victor was always around Hermione no matter where she went, besides the bathroom. Ron was getting more and more jealous, he wasn't sure what to do. He knew for a fact that Victor liked Hermione, but he wasn't sure whether or not she liked him too.

Author's Note: I hope that you like it so far, I am still working on it. Please read and review!


	3. Advice

**Chapter Three**

**Advice**

When Hogsmede weekend came around, Ron was having an argument with Harry about not being able to go.

"I can't go, I have a lot of homework to finish before Monday." Ron said, getting frustrated.

"Why not? I know that you'd much rather be going to Zonko's than sitting here all cooped up doing homework.." Harry replied.

"Yea, I know. But I can't let this go anymore because if I do then I won't have any time for myself. If I just stay here and get it done when no one is here to bother me, then I will be able to get it done a lot faster." he said.

"But who are you expecting me to hang out with?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry, you have Hermione and Krum. And don't forget about Ginny." Ron said.

"Oh yea, that'll be a lot of fun." Harry said sarcastically.

"Just have fun and don't worry about me. Right now I just need to get my mind set around all this homework." Ron said, pointing over his shoulder to a large pile of books sitting on the table.

"Okay, I'll see ya later then. Oh, is there anything you want me to get for you?" he asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Bye." Ron said.

By the time that everyone left, Ron was already bored out of his mind. He got up and began pacing around the common room. He knew for a fact that he wasn't staying behind because of homework, he wasn't going because of Hermione and Krum. He didn't want to have to walk around Hogsmede with Krum following Hermione around everywhere she went, it would drive him crazy.

So instead he decided to go for a walk to try to cool off. As he was walking around the grounds outside, he heard someone call his name. He turned around to find none other than Luna Lovegood.

Great! he thought. Just what I need, Loony Luna.

"Hello Ronald." she said, looking at him through her large protruding eyes.

"Hey." he mumbled.

"Are you alright? It seems like something is bothering you." she asked.

"Everything's fine." he snapped.

"Oh, well sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to see if you were alright because it seemed like something was wrong." she said, sounding hurt.

"Well thanks for asking, I'm alright. Just a little tired." he said, feeling ashamed for being so short with her.

They stood in silence for several moments until it was broken by Luna.

"You're upset about Krum visiting, aren't you?" she asked out of nowhere.

"Wha-...I don't know what..." he sputtered.

"You're pissed because you like Hermione and you thought that you had a clear shot at her but then out of nowhere Krum decided to come and visit and it screwed everything up for you and that upset you even more. And now you're afraid that Hermione is starting to fall for Krum because he is around her all the time." she said simply.

"How?"

"Listen, all you need to do is go up to the poor girl and talk to her about your feelings. Trust me, she's probably just as confused as you are right now. You just need to find a way to get her on her own and you need to tell her how you really feel." she said. And she turned on her heel and walked away without another word.

Ron stood there utterly perplexed for several long minutes with his mouth hanging open.

He was completely lost and he wasn't sure what he should do, so he turned to the only person that he could think of that could help him out in a situation like this, and that person was his mother.

He decided that it was time to take some action. So he walked straight up to the Gryffindor common room, got out a sheaf of parchment, grabbed his quill and sat down to write to his mom.

He sat in silence for a while trying to decide how to start and how he would tell his mom that out of nowhere he has these strong feelings for Hermione.

As he finished he leaned back and reread his letter to his mother.

_Dear Mom,_

_How are you doing? Me, pretty good. Actually I'm not doing very_

_well at all. And that is the reason why I am writing to you. I really need _

_your advice. This may seem kind of weird but I'm just going to come out_

_and say it._

_The thing is that I really like Hermione, a lot. And everything was_

_going really well, I mean we talked about our feelings and everything but_

_I told her that I wasn't really ready for a relationship and she was fine _

_with that. But after a couple of weeks, out of nowhere, Victor Krum came_

_to visit and now he is following her around everywhere she goes and he_

_never leaves her alone._

_But what I need your help with is that I need to find a way to get _

_her on her own and when and if I am able to do that then I won't know_

_what to say at all and that is something else that I would need your help_

_with. I know that all this may come as a shock to you, but if you could _

_please help me out with this then I would be really grateful._

_Thanks Mom, I love you!_

_Love, your son,_

_Ronald_

That's good enough. he thought She'll get the point.

So he sealed up the letter and walked upstairs to the boys dormitory to find Pig. As soon as he opened the door a small round feathery ball collided hard with his face.

"Arrgg...PIG." he yelled.

He looked up and saw Pig circling his head excitedly. He reached up and grabbed him by his tail feathers and jerked him down.

"Hold still you stupid feathery git." he said getting fully frustrated.

When he finally got his letter to his mom tied onto his leg, he went over to the window and tossed him out. Pig dropped a few feet before he was able to catch himself. Ron stood there and watched him fly off into the sunset.

Well, he thought, since there was nothing else to do then I guess I should start on my homework so that Harry won't come back and think that he lied to him.

So he walked down to the common room to work on his Potions and Transfiguration homework.

It took several days for his mother to write back, but as he was sitting in the Great Hall eating his breakfast, a large brown school owl swooped down over his head and dropped an envelope addressed from his mother on his plate of eggs and bacon.

Ron grabbed his mom's letter and ripped it open. It read:

_Dear Ron,_

_I'm proud that you're finally doing something about this. I was really getting worried that you wouldn't do anything at all and I was almost to the point of telling you to do something myself._

_Anyway, I am happy to tell you that I have some really good idea's on how you can get her alone. Now, before I tell you what you need to say to her, let me tell you how to get her away from Victor Krum. Oh my, I can't believe that he's actually there with you. Sorry._

_Okay, what you need to do is tell Harry that he needs to go and talk to Krum and challenge him to a game of Quidditch and once they're outside, then you need to find Hermione._

_Now, about what you're going to say to her. Once you get her on her own, the only advice that I have for what you need to say to her is that you just need to tell her how you really feel about her, try to make her understand your true feelings. If you need anything else, please just let me know right away and I will try to help you as much as I can. And I hope that this helped you at least a little bit._

_Love always,_

_Mom_

Ron was running up the marble staircase, pushing people out of the way. By the time that he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he was completely out of breath.

"Password?" she asked.

Ron tried to say the password but he could hardly breathe.

"Password?" she said irritably, "are you going to give me the password, or am I going to have to sit here all day long waiting on you hand and foot."

"Let me catch my breath, will ya?" Ron snapped.

"You don't have to get all snotty with..." she started, but Ron cut her off.

"Caput Draconis."

"Alright, but you better watch yourself. I don't have to let you in you know?" she inquired.

"Yea, yea whatever."

As he entered the common room, he stood there searching...YES. Harry was sitting in the corner playing cards with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, Ron ran up to them and they all greeted him and asked if he wanted to play.

"No thanks. Umm, Harry I really need to talk to you like, now." he said impatiently.

When Harry looked up at Ron, he could tell that something serious was wrong.

"Yea sure. Let's go upstairs to the dormitory." Harry said.

Seamus and Dean looked between the two of them suspiciously, as Harry and Ron walked up the staircase, but they continued to play cards.

As soon as Harry closed the door, he turned straight to Ron looking extremely worried.

"What's wrong? Is anyone hurt?" he said hurriedly.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that I wrote to my mom because I was getting really confused about everything." he started. Within 5 minutes, his story was told.

"Yea, sure. If you need me to get Krum away from Hermione, I'll definitely help. I'll talk to him on Saturday." Harry said.

"Thanks Harry, I really appreciate it, a lot." said Ron sounding relieved.

"No problem, I can promise you 15 to 20 minutes easy." Harry replied.

Yes! Ron thought. By Saturday, Krum will be history and me and Hermione will be together like it should be.

Author's Note: Please read and review, I still have a lot more chapters to put up but I need the reviews, because I don't want to post my entire story if no one likes it!


	4. Gone

**Chapter Four**

**Gone**

As Saturday rolled around and Ron woke up, he was extremely anxious. He couldn't wait until Harry came and got Krum away from Hermione.

By the time lunch came around Hermione, Krum, Harry and Ron were all sitting in the Great Hall together eating lunch. When Harry and Ron looked at each other, Harry nodded and Ron knew what that meant, it was time.

"Hey, Krum. How about me and you go out to the Quidditch pitch and try out some of those new moves you were telling me about." said Harry.

"Sure. Ov course, only if Herm-own-ninny will come out and watch us." he said, turning and looking at her affectionately.

Ron just wanted to stand up and punch the crap out of him, but he held himself back.

"I'll be out there in a little while, I'm just going finish up my lunch." she said.

"Alvight, I'll see you in a little vhile." he said, kissing her on top of her head.

As soon as they left, Ron turned and looked at Hermione. She was determinately staring at her plate, not looking at Ron.

"Umm, Hermione. I..." he started, but was cut off by another large barn owl fly over their heads and drop a letter in his lap.

He picked it up and saw that it was from his brother Percy.

What in the bloody hell is he doing writing to me now.

He ripped open the envelope, he took out the letter and as he unfolded it he read:

_Dear Ronald,_

_I have come to find out that you are trying to keep Hermione Granger_

_from liking and/or dating Victor Krum because you seem to like her yourself._

_I must inquire that you do no such thing._

_My reason for saying this to you is because I will have no brother of _

_mine wasting his time and energy on a girl, especially Hermione. You need to_

_focus on your schoolwork, not some two-timing schoolgirl crush of yours. It_

_seems to me that if Hermione liked you then she wouldn't be with Krum. _

_Anyway, you should leave this alone, I don't want you hooking up with some_

_slut that you barely know. You are much better than that. Seeing as you didn't_

_listen to me about Harry, at least take my advice on this, she is nothing to brag_

_about._

_If you were to date her then that could lead to marriage, and I would not _

_want my family name washed away with some Mudblood that you just had a _

_thing for. She would take advantage of you and nothing more. She wouldn't_

_love you for you, she probably doesn't even like you. You are just so caught up_

_in liking her so much that you are making yourself believe that she has feelings_

_for you when she really doesn't._

_Don't waste your time on her, she is not worth it, trust me. I am telling_

_you this for your own good._

_Your brother,_

_Percy_

Ron stood up so quickly that he knocked over the bench. He marched straight over to the large fireplace, ripping up the letter in his hand and threw it fiercely into the fire. He stood there and watched it burn until nothing was left but ashes.

Hermione was taken by surprise by his sudden reversal to anger. She got up and walked over to Ron. She got in front of him and lifted up his head and looked into his eyes. They were filled with tears.

"Ron, what's wrong? What happened?" she asked, extremely worried.

"Nothing." he said fiercely, as he wiped the tears away.

"Ron, please tell me. Maybe I can help." she said, pleadingly.

"You can't do anything anymore. I can't deal with all this, I can't stand it." he said shortly, turning away from her and running out of the Great Hall.

"RON?" she yelled.

She ran over to the oak doors and he was gone, she hadn't any idea where he went. She needed to talk to Harry. She sprinted all the way to the Quidditch pitch, and when she got there she saw Harry and Victor walking towards her.

"Harry! Ron left, he's gone!" she panted.

"What? Where did he go?" he exclaimed.

"I don't know, after you left we were sitting there and a school owl swooped down and dropped a letter off for Ron. I don't even know who it was from, all that I know is that after he read it he ripped it up, threw it into the fire and when I went to go and talk to him about it he said something like that he couldn't deal with it and that I couldn't do anything anymore. I'm not sure, but then the next thing I know he turns and runs out of the Great Hall without another word. By the time I got to the door he was gone, I don't even know where he went." she said quickly.

"Listen I want you to try to calm down and I will go and look for him. Alright?" he said.

"Alright, just try to hurry I don't want anything bad to happen to him." she said frantically.

Hermione was sitting in the library, she was enjoying the pleasure of being alone with no one to bother her so that she would have time to think about Ron. But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Victor Krum came into the library.

"Herm-own-ninny! You scared me! I didn't know vere you vent, I couldn't find you." he said.

"Oh, well you caught me." she said sarcastically.

"Vell, yes I did. Vhat are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, just studying." she answered.

"I can help you, yes?" he said.

"Uh…, sure." she said hesitantly, "I just need to go to the restroom real quick."

"Alright, I'll be here vhen you come back." he said smiling.

"Okay." she said, smiling back.

I can't stand this much longer. she thought.

She wasn't planning on going to the restroom, actually she had another place in mind. She walked through the corridors looking...and, yes there it was. She walked up to the door and knocked.

"Come in." said Remus Lupin.

Author's Note: I hope you like it so far! I need as many reviews as I can get. Please keep reading and reviewing and I promise that I'll update. Thanks!


	5. Missing

**Chapter Five**

**Missing**

As she opened the door and walked into her DADA classroom she saw Professor Lupin sitting behind a large pile of paper's, grading.

"Yes Ms. Granger?" he said.

"Uh, Professor...? Remus, I need to talk to you." she said with finality.

He looked up at her as soon as she said this.

"What is it Hermione? Is something wrong?" he asked curiously.

"Well nothing big. It's just that I really need your advice right now, and you're the only person that I could think of that could help me out in a situation like this." she said.

"Yes, go on." he said, pushing his papers aside and leaning forward.

"Well, to get to the point, it's about Ron. I've liked him for a really long time and just a couple weeks ago we talked about our feelings towards each other. It was great, a path was finally found, and then like a bad curse he told me that he wasn't quite ready for a relationship, and stupidly I told him that it was okay, but it wasn't. I didn't want to loose him when I only just got a hold of him, but I told him that it was alright and that I would rather wait than to force him into a decision or have a rushed relationship. And I knew that as soon as those words came out of my mouth, that I was doing the wrong thing, but still I didn't do nor say anything." she said.

"Hermione, when decisions are made, at times we cannot control what we are saying. Sometimes we say what our brain wants us to say, not what our heart wants us to say, it's quite uncontrollable. Now, you shouldn't scold yourself just for what you said, I have a feeling that the reason why Ron told you that he wasn't ready for a relationship was because he was flat out scared." Remus said.

"But, why? Why not just tell me, I mean I would understand completely, I wouldn't be upset or anything, he should know that." she said, getting even more confused.

"Look at it this way Hermione, out of nowhere you guys both are telling one another how much you like each other. So he was hit with big dose of reality and fast, so his first reaction was to close up and not let anyone in. It was all so new to him and he didn't know what to do, he was nervous and scared so he wanted to wait it out and see if time would help at all." he said.

"But the thing is that I think that he waited too long." she said.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I mean that last week Victor came to visit and I know for a fact that he likes me a lot. And now I really confused because I feel like I'm starting to like Victor but I know in my heart that I really love Ron. But I have a feeling that Ron is either getting mad at me or he doesn't like me anymore. I know that I would much rather be with Ron than with Victor." she said.

"But earlier, while Ron and I were sitting in the Great Hall he got a letter from someone and when he was done reading it he ripped it up and threw it into the fire and when I went up to comfort him he snapped at me and then he ran off, but I don't know where he went. I told Harry about it and he told me to try to calm down and he would try to find Ron, so I went ahead and came to you, for your help because I know that you know how a guy's mind works better that I do." she admitted.

"Well I'm not too sure about the letter part but I just think that he is upset about Victor coming and ruining everything for him. He just probably needed to go and cool off, I don't think that he ran away, he just didn't want to be around anyone right now. Although it is a good idea to find him as soon as possible and especially before dark because it's not safe at all for him to be out and alone. Listen Hermione, my advice to you is that if you really like him the way you say that you do than you need to go and find him and tell him how you feel. It doesn't matter whether you think if he is mad at you or that he doesn't like you anymore, you just need to set him down and tell him everything, and more than likely he'll feel the same way." he said.

"Really? You think so?" she asked.

"Yes really. Just do what your heart tells you to do." he said sweetly.

"Thank you so much Remus…I mean Professor!" she said, scrambling out of her chair hurriedly and sprinting towards the door.

"Don't mention it." he said smiling, and shaking his head slightly as he pulled his paperwork back towards him.

She ran back down to the Great Hall searching for him, not there; the library, not there; the Quidditch pitch, not there; Hagrid's, not there.

Where in the hell did he go? she thought frantically. The common room! Duh!

She streaked up the marble staircase and tore through the corridors. When she arrived at the fat lady, she couldn't breathe at all.

"Caput Draconis!" she panted.

"Catch your breath my young dear." she said tenderly.

"JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" she screamed, not caring what the fat lady thought.

"I don't know what is happening to today's youth…" she mumbled as she swung forward to let Hermione in.

When she first entered the common room she searched frantically for any sign of Ron or Harry. No one.

The dormitories!

She ran all the way up the staircase and began pounding on the door.

"HARRY, RON? WILL SOMEONE ANSWER THIS FUCKING DOOR-" she screeched.

The door opened and Harry was standing right in the doorway.

"Harry, thank god. Is Ron in there?" she asked trying to peer inside over his shoulder, "I really need to talk to him, like right now."

"No Hermione he's not in here. In fact, I don't have any idea where he is." he said slowly.

"What? I thought that you said that you were going to go and look for him and find him." she said, her breathing becoming very shallow.

"I know and I did but I couldn't find him anywhere. I just came up here to ask the others if they've seen him at all." he said.

"And…?" she asked breathlessly.

"And no one has seen him at all." he said, staring at the ground.

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing about this. We have to go and try to look for him again, look harder. He has to be somewhere." she said quickly.

"Hermione, just calm down…" Harry began.

"No, I am not just going to sit here and do absolutely nothing." she said shaking from head to foot, "We need to do something. Come on!"

She grabbed Harry by the wrist and they were out the door. They ran through the common room pushing people out of the way, ignoring the rude comments they were making.

Author's Note: I hope you like. Read and review please.


	6. Information

**Chapter Six**

**Information**

After an hour of looking around the entire castle and its grounds, they decided that it was time to take a break. So they headed back to the common room.

"I can't believe this, where could he have gone?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, it's not like him to be gone this long." Harry replied.

"I don't understand why you two are wasting so much time on a stupid Weasel like that." said a sneering voice.

Harry and Hermione whipped around and saw Draco Malfoy standing right behind them, leaning casually against the wall with a large smile spread across his face.

"Shut up Malfoy." Harry snapped, "This is none of your business."

"Oh really? It's none of my business is it? Well, I would think that it is my business because I'm pretty sure that I am the only one out of this entire school that has any idea where your friend is." he said, malaciously.

"Yea right, you're real funny. C'mon Hermione, let's go." Harry said as he turned to leave. Although when he turned to look at Hermione she wasn't beside him.

"Hermione?"

Hermione was standing in the same spot as if rooted to the ground, hardly breathing at all. There was something about the look in Malfoy's eye that told her that he wasn't lying.

"Where is he Malfoy?" she asked.

"Hermione, c'mon. He's just fibbing." Harry said.

"Tell me." she said fiercely.

"Well, well, well. The Mudblood actually possess' common sense, unlike you Potter." Draco said.

"You watch your mouth Malfoy." Harry said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Draco's chest.

"Oh, no. Someone save me, Potter's going to hurt me with his big bad wand." he said sarcastically.

"CRUCI-"

"HARRY NO!" Hermione yelled, grabbing his wand.

"But Hermione, he-he just…" Harry studdered.

"I know, but he may actually know where Ron is." she said quietly.

"Smart move Granger. You just saved yourself some crucial information." Malfoy said.

"Just tell us where Ron is, and get out of here." Harry snapped.

"I would watch how you talk to your superiors, Potter." he said.

"Yes, of course," interrupted Hermione, "please, where is he?" she asked desperately.

"I would say that Weasel B went on a permanent vacation with my father," he said smiling wickedly. "Of course, he was refusing to go at first, but in the end he agreed, if that's what you want to call it."

As Malfoy walked away laughing, Harry cursed.

"Whatever, he's just trying to make us worry." he huffed.

"No Harry, he was telling the truth." said Hermione breathing quickly.

"Wha- how…?" he started.

"I just know." she answered simply.

"Well then, what are we going to do?" he asked, sounding scared.

"I thing that we should go straight to Dumbledore." she said thinking quick, not even knowing what she was saying.

The next thing that they knew, they were sprinting towards Dumbledore's office. When they got there they didn't have any idea what the password was.

"Umm…Fizzing Wizbee, Bertie Bots Every Flavored Beans, Lemon Drop, Sherbert Lemon,…I don't know, Dungbomb!" she said frantically.

Just then the gargoyle jumped down out of the way.

"Wha?" she sputtered, but didn't linger.

They dashed forward and up the spiral staircase and knocked on the door.

"Professor Dumbledore? Please, we need to speak to you." Hermione said pleadingly.

A split second later the door opened and Albus Dumbledore was framed in the doorway.

"Please, come in." he said.

They rushed into the beautiful circular room, it was dark outside now but Dumbledore's office was bright. The portraits on the wall were talking to each other and as soon as they saw Harry and Hermione enter the room they all became quiet.

"Yes? From what I heard from Ms. Granger while you two were out there, I think that you need to speak to me?" stated Dumbledore.

"Oh, sorry Professor." she said turning red and looking at the ground.

"No need for an apology. What is it that you need to talk to me about?" he asked, peering over his half-moon spectacles at the both of them.

"It's about Ron, sir. I was sitting with him at lunch and we started to talk and then a school owl flew down and dropped at letter off for Ron…" she started.

"Who was the letter from?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't know. After he read it, he got up and ripped the letter up and threw it into the fire. When I walked over to him to see if he was alright and to ask him who it was from, he was extremely upset and told me that he was tired of everything and then he ran off." she said.

"Do you have any idea where he went Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, by the time that I went after him, he was gone. Then I went looking for Harry and I told him what happened and he told me to try to calm down and that he would go and look for Ron." Hermione said.

"And did you have any luck?" he asked, addressing Harry instead.

"No, I looked everywhere for him. So I decided to go and check in the boys dormitory, that's when Hermione came up looking for Ron. I told her that I couldn't find him, so we went ahead and decided that we would look one more time." Harry said.

"And…?" Dumbledore urged.

"Nothing," said Hermione, "but as soon as we decided to take a break and were heading back to the common room, we ran into Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy." he corrected. "And what did he say?"he asked inquiringly.

"He said that he was the only one here that knew where Ron was and when I asked where that was, he said that Ron went on a permanent vacation with his father. So I think he means that the Death Eaters have him now." she said with finality.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his fingers interlocked and deep in thought. The three of them sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Until, finally, it was broken.

"I agree that Malfoy is telling the truth," he said simply, "and I do believe that the Death Eaters have takenRon and nowVoldemort has him and I think that he took him for a reason. I believe that Voldemort's thought for taking Ron was a weakness for Harry. He has been trying to find anyway possible to get ahold of Harry, or at least lure Harry away from my protection and he almost succeeded on more than one occasion."

"Yea, you can say that again." Harry said more to himself than to the others.

"Now I don't want either of you two worrying yourself too much. I will do as much as I can, and The Order and myself will get him back as soon as possible. I will inform Molly and Arthur Weasley of this and I'm positive that everything will be just fine." he said seriously. "Now, I want you two to head back to your common room and do not inform anyone of this."

"Alright." said Harry and Hermione together.

Author's Note: Keep reading, keep reading. (and review please!)


	7. It's Over

**Chapter Seven**

**It's Over**

On their way back to the common room, they heard someone running up behind them. They turned around and saw Victor Krum running up to them.

"Oh my, I can't believe this. I've lost you tvice today Herm-own-ninny." he said giggling.

"Listen Victor, I-…" she began.

"Hey Herm-own-ninny, look vhat I found earlier today vhen I vent into the…" he said, but was cut off by Hermione.

"VICTOR!" she yelled, "Listen, I can't do this anymore. I know that you like me and I like you too, but only as a friend. I like Ron, and I am really worried about him right now. You can find someone who is better than me, I'm sure that there's someone out there for you, somewhere. I just can't stand this anymore, I'm really sorry Victor." she finished.

"Oh...vell, I didn't know that you felt that way. Vhy didn't you say anysing? Vhy didn't you just tell me how you veally felt?" he asked her.

"I would have...actually I should say that I _should_ have said something to you about this long ago."

"Then vhy didn't you?" he said.

"I don't know..." she studdered, "I didn't want to hurt you nor our relationship."

"Vell ve can still be friends, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course we can still be friends." she said sounding throughly relieved.

"Alvight, vell...I guess that I should go ahead and pack my shing's tonight so shat I can leave in the morning." he said distractedly.

"Oh no, I don't want to leave. We can still hang out and everything, it's just nothing more will really happen between us. Alright?" she asked.

"Alvight, vellI'll see you later then, I'm gonna head off to bed." he said.

"Bye Victor." Hermione said.

"See ya." said Harry.

Author's Note: I'm sorry, I know that this is a really, really short chapter. But I just wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to know that Hermione and Victor's relationship was over. Please review and I'll update. Thanks.


	8. Help

**Chapter Eight**

**Help**

When Christmas Break came around Harry and Hermione decided that they wanted to go to Grimmauld Place, so Hermione sent a letter to her parents telling them that she needed to stay at school so that she could study for her upcoming exams. They said that it was fine, and Harry was going there because he knew that all the Weasley's were going to be there too.

Like always they had a guard, so when they were done packing they headed downstairs to the Great Hall to wait for the guard to show up. As they were walking down the marble staircase, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Shacklebolt were all standing in the middle of the Great Hall waiting for the both of them.

While the guard was standing there, Harry noticed that practically everyone that was in the Great Hall was looking curiously over at the small group of wizards.

Remus was the first to notice Harry and Hermione.

"Here, let us help you with those." he said gesturing towards their bags.

By the time that they had gotten to the taxi cab, which they had to use for security measures, they were all exhausted from the long walk.

They had to use two cab's because of the amount of people there were. So Harry, Hermione and Remus got into the first cab and Tonks, Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye got into the second cab.

Harry and Hermione definitely enjoyed being able to ride with Lupin rather than any of the other members of the guard. They had a good time laughing and joking around about everything.

Good, Remus thought. This is exactly what he wanted the trip to be like, that was his goal: to keep Harry and Hermione's mind as far away from the thought of Ron as possible.

When they arrived at Grimmauld Place, it looked the same as it did the last time they had been there. They all climbed out of the taxi's and got all their bags, Harry got Hedwig and Hermione got Crookshanks.

Harry noticed that both of the cab drivers seemed very pleased to leaving such a large group of awkward people and also to be getting out of such a beat up, old, dark and run down neighborhood such as this.

As soon as they got inside, they were being hugged by Mrs Weasley.

"Oh Hermione, Harry, I am so glad that you're alright. Thanks to you two The Order was able to get a quick move on trying to figure out where Ron is. Thank you so much. Now you two need to go ahead and go upstairs, there is a very important meeting going on in the kitchen." she whispered.

So Harry and Hermione made their way up the long, dark staircase. They passed by several smaller portraits, and then they came upon a very large portrait that had a large curtain that was pulled closed over the painting.

They both knew what was behind the curtain, it was a picture of Sirius Black's mother. They also knew that if there was a load noise made that it would wake her up and that was the last thing that they need. So, as the passed by her portrait they were as quiet as possible.

By the time that they got to their room, Fred and George were sitting on their beds waiting for them.

"Hello Fred, hello George. How are you?" Hermione asked them both.

"Hey." said Harry.

"We're doing pretty good. How about you two?" they asked together, in a voice unlike their own.

"Fine..." said Hermione slowly, "are you two all right?"

"Yea, great." George said, with sarcasm. "Of course we're not alright."

"That jerk Malfoy sold Ron, our little brother, out to You-Know-Who just to help out his stupid father, just to make himself feel important." Fred said angrily.

"And we're going to make him pay for what he has done to our family, for the last time." said George, with a hungry look in his eyes.

"Listen...Fred, George...I don't think that doing anything to Malfoy would help with anything–" Hermione started, but was cut off by Fred.

"Yea it will, it will help George and me get rid of our anger." Fred said, menacingly.

"What I meant was that all it would cause is you two getting yourselves into trouble and getting not only Draco, but Lucius angry." Hermione concluded.

"So what? Who cares? He's gonna get what he deserves, it's called payback Hermione." George said.

"I know what it's called, it's just–I mean..., Harry help me out here." Hermione said wheeling around and staring at him.

"It's none of my business what they want to do, BUT..." Harry continued on through Hermione's protests. "to tell you the truth, if it were my little brother that was sold out by some stupid little prick like Malfoy, then I would definitely want payback."

"Spoken like a true friend." said Fred, as George patted him on the back.

As Hermione opened her mouth to retaliate, Fred interrupted her, "Listen Hermione instead of you just sitting here trying to argue something that you won't win, why don't we listen in on what the elders have to say about Ron."

"They are downstairs having a meeting about Ron right now, and seeing as how we are his brothers than I think that gives us a right to know what they are saying." said George.

"And we thought that you guys would also have a right to know because you two are his best friends." said Fred.

As soon as he said that, he was pulling out two pairs of Extendable Ears.

"Harry, you and George can use those," he said handing Harry a pair of flesh colored strings. "And Hermione and I will use these."

As each one of them stuck an end of the string in their ear, the other end snaked their way down the balcony, all the way to the kitchen door.

Then out of nowhere, as if they were standing right next to them all, they heard every word that was being said.

"Now what we need to do is to make a list of where he could possibly be. And as soon as that has been done we need to split up and go and look for him." said Alastor.

"Yes but we need to make sure that we are looking in the right places. I mean it would be pointless to being searching in any place, that would just be wasting our time." Tonks piped up.

"All I want to happen is for us to find him as soon as possible, I miss him so much." said Mrs. Weasley through small sobs.

"We all want that dear, but we can't rush into anything right now." Mr. Weasley said patting his wife on the back.

"What I propose that we do is to, as Alastor said, make a small list of places that we know that he could be. Once we have done that then we need to send members out periodically. Not at the same time because that would seem too suspicious, and right now we do not want Voldemort finding a pattern in what we are doing. So, for right now we need to act, no matter how hard it may be, as if nothing has gone wrong, we don't want to show signs of weakness." Dumbledore said.

"So as of right now, we need to start writing down the areas that he may be in and after that is finished, we need to assign people to go and check those certain areas." McGonagall said firmly.

"Yes, that is a very good idea Minerva." said Dumbledore.

By that time Harry, Hermione, Fred and George had taken the Extendable Ears out and were dashing down the stairs. When they arrived at the kitchen door they didn't bother knocking, they didn't even bother slowing down, they just burst through the door.

As they stood there gasping for breath everyone jumped and turned to look at them with a look of mild surprise.

"We want to help!" Hermione said quickly.

"Wha–...how did you know?" Mrs. Weasley asked perplexed.

"It doesn't matter how we heard, we just want to help." said George.

"We heard you guys talking about it so we came down here." Harry said, sounding exasperated.

"You two weren't using those dreadful 'ear listening' things were you?" Mrs. Weasley said threateningly.

"Who cares, that doesn't matter now." Fred snapped.

Mrs. Weasley looked at them both with a hurt expression.

At this point, neither of them cared much about anything.

"I know that you must be sick from worry but I am afraid that you two cannot help us, not only because you are too young, but..." Dumbledore continued, even though Fred and George made sounds of protest, "because it is much too dangerous."

"But we're his brothers." Fred and George said together.

"Yes but–..."

"Yea, and we're his best friends and we're really worried about him and we should be able to help try and find him." Harry and Hermione piped up.

"Yes, but my word is final." Dumbledore said in a strong, even voice. "You four shall remain and assist Molly with the duties that are to be done around here."

Author's Notice: I hope you like this chapter better, well at least it's longer than the last one! Lol! Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep updating. Thanks!


	9. The Secret Meeting

**Chapter Nine**

**The Secret Meeting**

"I can't believe this, I mean all we want to do is help." Hermione said, as she fell backwards onto her bed.

"Who said that we couldn't help?" George asked rhetorically.

Hermione sat up quickly and looked over at Fred and George.

"Listen you guys, Dumbledore said that we need to stay here and help out with your mom. So I think that is what we should do."

"So you're telling us that you would rather stay here and do absolutely nothing while Ron is being tortured by You-Know-Who?" Fred asked, looking at Hermione with disbelief.

"Well no, but...I mean, how in the hell are we supposed to help when we don't even know where to start looking?" she asked.

"That's where these come in." George said pointedly, pulling out the extendable ears.

"They are downstairs having a meeting about all of the locations that Ron could possibly be." said Fred.

"Don't you think that they would have put a Imperturbable Charm on the door, since the last meeting that we overheard?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we." George said beaming.

He opened their bedroom door, walked over to the balcony and slowly lowered the flesh colored string down to the kitchen door. On the way down, the string got caught on the hook that was on the wall right beside the door.

"Damn!" Fred whispered.

"What is it?" George asked sounding worried and peering over the balcony.

"The stupid thing is caught on something." Fred said through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean 'caught'? What is it caught on?" Hermione asked quickly.

"I mean that the damn thing is caught up on something, and how the hell should I know what it is caught on." Fred said fiercely.

"Listen, I knew that this was a bad idea, I don't know why..." Hermione began.

"Hermione will you stop bitching so much, seriously that's all you ever..." George yelled, but was cut off by a sharp pain in his leg.

"OUCH! Fred, what in the hell was that..."

"Sshhhhh...listen, I think I hear someone coming." Fred whispered.

They all became quiet, listening intently...and then they all heard it, footsteps coming.

"Where are they coming from?" George asked petrified.

Fred stuck the end of the flesh colored string that was in his hand, in his ear.

"Someone's about to come out of the kitchen." he whispered barely audible, his eyes widening with terror.

He wheeled around and began to jerk at the string trying to get it off the hook. He tried leaning over the balcony so that he could get a better grip, but as soon as he did that he knew it was a mistake. As he leaned over and tried to grab the string he began to fall over the side, George jumped forward and grabbed him at the last second.

Behind them they heard Hermione.

"Oh my god!" she squealed.

"Shut up! Keep your voice down." George said in a forced whispered, he hadn't meant to be so loud but it was kind of hard because he was trying to keep his brother from falling over the side of the balcony and plummeting three stories down.

"George try to keep your voice down for god's sake." Fred whispered.

"I'm trying to but it's kind of hard because..." he started.

"Sshhhh..."

They become completely quiet as they heard the kitchen door open below them. It was Mrs. Weasley, she walked across the hallway into the family room and out of site. She could have easily stopped and looked up and saw all four of them, frozen in place. Harry thought to himself what this situation might look like from down there; Fred was falling halfway over the balcony, George was trying to keep him from falling, Hermione was standing not far behind them with a terrified look on her face while Harry was standing right beside her. And on top of it all the extendable ears were caught on a hook right beside the door.

They all stayed as still as they could as they saw Mrs. Weasley walk back across the hallway towards the kitchen door.

Fred let out a huge sigh a little too early and a little too loudly. As Mrs. Weasley stopped abruptly, Hermione opened her mouth to let out a squeal, but Harry was quicker than that and threw his hand over her mouth just in time.

Mrs. Weasley looked around for a couple of seconds before she shrugged her shoulders and disappeared through the kitchen door.

With one huge jerk, Fred was pulled back over the balcony with the extendable ears, and the four of them sprinted into the bedroom and collapsed all over the place.

"What a rush." George exclaimed, as him and Fred heaved a huge high-five in the air, smiling widely.

"Oh my, that was so close, it was crazy." Hermione said, shaking slightly.

"Yea, that was pretty awesome." Harry admitted.

"'Pretty awesome'...I would have to say that surpassed just plain old 'pretty awesome' Harry." Fred said as they all burst out laughing.

After a couple of minutes it became quiet again as the laughter died off.

"Well then how in the hell are we supposed to find out where to start looking if we can't even hear what they're saying in that stupid meeting?" Fred asked.

They all sat there thinking for several long minutes, until the silence was broken by Hermione getting up and walking towards the door. Just as she reached out to open the door she heard someone call her name, so she turned around and faced the three of them.

"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to help, and I'm gonna start off by going downstairs and sneaking into that meeting so that we can help find Ron." she said, looking fiercely at all of them.

"Oh, Harry? Is it all right if I use your Invisibility Cloak?"

"Of course, let me get it." Harry said.

"Now that's what I like to see, teamwork. Hermione, I have to give it to you, I'm impressed." George said.

"Yea, I am too, I am honestly proud. All there is left to say is good luck to you and _bon voyage._" said Fred.

Hermione turned on her heel and left the room beaming, she couldn't help but smile, not after the compliments she had just received. But reality soon hit her straight in the face when she found herself standing right outside the kitchen door.

I can't do this! I can't do this! she thought, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind another one did, and it was of Ron. That was all she needed.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself, threw on Harry's Invisibility Cloak and slowly pushed the kitchen door open.

When she first went in there, she was exceptionally glad that there was a lot of talking going on because the door squeaked quite loudly, and when this happened she stopped dead in her tracks and held her breath and quickly looked around.

No one seemed to notice her, so she quietly exhaled and looked to see if Mad-Eye was there, because if he was then there would be no way for her to stay there without being noticed. Thankfully he wasn't at this particular meeting.

Thank god! she thought to herself.

She snuck over to the farthest corner in the room, pulled out a quill and a sheaf of parchment and positioned herself comfortably.

I'm glad that I had this with me. she thought, even though she knew that she was always prepared for anything and everything. It was always good to be equipped for any situation, at least in her opinion.

Throughout the entire meeting, which in her opinion didn't take as long as she would have thought, she sat in the corner and took notes on the locations in which the members were going to go looking for Ron. She also noted the specific people in which are taking on certain locations.

"I wonder what is taking Hermione so long." Harry said.

"She hasn't really been gone that long Harry." said George.

"Yea, she's only been gone about 20 minutes." Fred added.

"I know, but it's felt a lot longer than that. I mean she..." Harry started, but was cut off by their bedroom door opening.

"Sooo...did you get anything good?" Fred asked.

"Did I get anything good?" she said mocking Fred, placing her index finger on her chin and acting as if she was in deep thought. "Hmmm..."

"Come on Hermione, did you get anything?" George asked.

"Of course I did." she answered.

She held out the sheaf of parchment so that they could look at it.

"Wow Hermione, again, I am impressed." George said.

"Impressed isn't the word for it. This is unbelievable." Fred said.

"Well, I tried." she answered simply, though slightly amused.

"If this is you just trying, then I would like to see your _knowing_." Harry said, smiling and looking over at her. "This is amazing Hermione."

"Thanks."

Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter, I thought it would be nice to put a little humor in it. But of course any story with Fred and George in it will always have humor! Please read and review. I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks!


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